U.S. troops near Mosul detained two alleged al-Qaida associates and four other suspects. The two suspected associates are believed to be part of an al-Qaida network south of the city in Sharqat, officials said.

Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists in Salahuddin province, including an alleged al-Qaida leader in Samarra. The alleged leader reportedly supervises attacks in and around the city. The other suspects were detained during operations in Beiji, officials said.

In two separate operations in Baghdad, coalition forces captured three suspected terrorists. One suspect and his associate are believed to be conspirators connected with foreign-fighter facilitators outside of the country. The other suspect reportedly is linked to a car-bombing network in the city, officials said.

In operations yesterday:

-- Iraqi police killed a suspected Iranian-trained “special groups” criminal and wounded two others in Baghdad’s Rusafa district after a drive-by shooting on the New Baghdad police station. Policemen returned fire, eventually causing the vehicle to flip. All three individuals were taken to the Kindi Hospital in Baghdad, officials said.

-- Iraqi special operations forces captured five alleged al-Qaida members in Khalis, just north of Baqouba. One of the suspects is believed to be a financier and intelligence manager for al-Qaida. The other four reportedly are believed to manufacture and emplace homemade bombs, officials said.

-- Coalition troops found two weapons caches in Baghdad after acting on tips from local citizens. The caches consisted of two anti-tank grenades, two rocket-propelled grenades, a mortar and a homemade bomb, officials said.